THE FOURTH TRUMPET

Revelation Chapter 8

VERSE 12 “Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.”

THEN THE FOURTH ANGEL SOUNDED: Peter Waldo. He sounded quite loudly. The descriptions of the fourth Trumpet show the reactions of his teachings.

AND A THIRD OF SUN WAS STRUCK, A THIRD OF THE MOON, AND A THIRD OF THE STARS:

The SUN represents the Gospel Age teachings of the New Testament. The MOON represents the Jewish Law and Prophets of the Old Testament writings. The STARS represent the Apostles; perhaps here, it most specifically represents the Apostolic teachings regarding Church organization.

Since ONE THIRD is being singled out to be SMITTEN, that third must be identified. The primary question to ask in determining which third is meant is to ask,

WHICH THREE ENTITIES ARE USING (or claim to be using) the Bible?

This seems fairly easy to answer. Since A.D. 1054, two “orthodox” churches are functioning: the Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox branch. The only other recognizable unit using the Bible is Waldo and his followers. Clearly, then, Waldo’s THIRD is the one which will be smitten.

Jezebel (the apostate church) could not endure Waldo’s teachings or his constant spreading around of his vernacular translation of the Bible. She would actively smite his influence.

SO THAT A THIRD OF THEM WERE DARKENED:

The REASON for smiting is clear. The apostate church wished the new light offered by Waldo to APPEAR to be darkness.

A THIRD OF THE DAY DID NOT SHINE, AND LIKEWISE THE NIGHT:

The word DAY here probably represents truths about the kingdom (1 Thess. 5:1-8) NIGHT probably represents truths about the current age — the permission of evil, the nighttime of sin. The Roman church CLAIMED she was the Kingdom of God on earth. By her reckoning, it was day! Waldo knew better; it was the depths of night. So, Waldo’s THIRD of Scripture usage needed to be suppressed. It was mandatory that Waldo’s truths about the kingdom and the current evil be suppressed. If his DAY and NIGHT truths would SHINE, the lies of the Roman church would be evident.

There seems not to be a need to try to apply a chronological interpretation to a third of the day. First, it doesn’t work. Second, the “third” symbolism seems well used consistently throughout the verse to mean Waldo’s third of the message.

VERSE 13 “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

This verse seems not to be an integral part of the fourth Trumpet. It takes its chronological position at the end of the fourth Trumpet, and it serves as a bridge to the final three Trumpets. It is also linked to the fourth part of the Church by the use of the symbol of the eagle.

AND I LOOKED AND I HEARD; The John Class (the saints) observes a change.

AN EAGLE FLYING THROUGH THE MIDST OF HEAVEN: (Literally ONE eagle.) The eagle certainly represents wisdom; but it also represents the Scriptures as the physical embodiment of that wisdom. Waldo had let the eagle out of the cage! By making a vernacular translation of the Bible, he set the eagle free to soar! Now it appears in mid-heaven (the ecclesiastical heavens here on earth, available to anyone in “heaven” — not restricted to any one part of these heavens).

SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, WOE, WOE, WOE TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH …: The RESULT of a readable Bible spells trouble (woe) to the establishment (those who dwell on the earth). The RESULT of the beginning of the freeing of Scripture is here stated to be the soon-to-be continual threat to those who would hide truth. The remaining Trumpets (5-7) WILL cause trouble to Jezebel and all who continue in her ways.

We move on to the Fifth Church and its angel in our next post.